ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the steps of societal responses to mental illness across time. Approaches to mental health treatment throughout the eras can be reduced to three concise themes: supernatural, somatagenic, and psychogenic. Mental illness has long been stigmatized and misunderstood both on cross-national and cross-cultural fronts. During ancient times, persons afflicted with mental disease were viewed as immoral creatures who were most likely possessed by demons. The earliest accounts of mental illness and responding treatments were recorded throughout ancient civilization; as early as 5000 bce, among Neolithic and Mesopotamian civilizations. At the beginning of the Enlightenment era, mental disorders were not considered legitimate illnesses; rather, persons so afflicted were merely a disturbance to the community. The mission of asylums under the moral treatment philosophy was to keep patients engaged through healthy living, which included exercise, religious practice, work, and education. Despite the changing philosophy, many persons with mental illness continued to be hospitalized due to their chronic or unexplainable conditions.
